Updated

05/15/2017 - 1:15pm

Weeks after Donald Trump welcomed him to the White House and praised his good work, Egypt's Abdul Fattah al-Sisi quietly gave himself new powers that judges and rights groups say threaten whatever Egyptian court independence remains.

Two Coptic churches were bombed in Egypt on Sunday. The explosions occurred as worshipers had been celebrating Palm Sunday, one of the holiest days of the Christian calendar. Egyptian officials have denounced the attacks and Pope Francis sent his "deep condolences."

People across the globe are watching to see if there's ultimately a resolution to this US government shutdown. And what they're saying — and hearing — isn't great. Many folks around the globe say the shutdown looks crazy. It looks silly. It looks like lawmakers are arguing about something that doesn't entirely matter.

A new survey asked for opinions about how women should dress in public in the Middle East. The choices included images of women wearing different kinds of head coverings. The results and approach have been widely criticized. So Lebanese satirist Karl Sharro decided to do his own "survey" on what American women should wear.

With the death of Peter O'Toole, everyone is talking about one of his great roles, as Lawrence of Arabia — the British intelligence officer who lead an Arab revolt in World War I. So that led producer Christopher Woolf to examine just how much of the film is actually based on history.

Islamic feminists in many Muslim-majority countries have spent years studying and interpreting Islamic texts, especially the passages concerning divorce, inheritance and child custody. In Egypt, three women scholars discuss their new interpretations of Islamic law.